Book reviews

Bo o k r e v i e ws
I nor gani c Fi bres and Co mp o s i t e Ma t e r i a l s
P. Bracke, H. Schumans and J. Ver hoest
Published by Pergamon Press Ltd, Headi ngt on Hill Hall,
Oxford OX3 0BW, England, 1984
I SBN 0 08 0 3 1 1 4 5 8, Pri ce 3 0 . 0 0 , US $ 5 0 . 0 0 xi +
178 pp.
This monograph is t he resul t of a st udy carried out for the
Commi ssi on on Informati on Mar ket and Innovation of
t he European Communi t i es on devel opment s that have
occurred since 1970 in t he field of inorganic fi bres and
composi t e materials. The aut hors are emi nent l y sui ted to
conduct thi s comprehensi ve survey as t hey are all at t he
European Patent Office at t he Hague and thi s compen-
di um arises di rectl y from publ i shed pat ent and non-
patent literature syst emat i cal l y document ed at that
office. Much of the i nformati on contai ned in thi s publica-
tion is t heref ore an advance indication of t he possi bl e
f ut ure devel opment s in t he t echnol ogy of high grade
composi t e materials.
The book is in t wo parts. The f i rst part deals wi t h the
composi ti on, preparation, speci fi c t reat ment , propert i es
and uses of all t ypes of artificial i norgani c fi bres (wi t h the
excepti on of gl ass fibres). There are seven chapters in
thi s secti on di scussi ng metal fibres, carbon fibres, boron
fibres, pol ycrystal l i ne refractory oxide, as wel l as carbide,
nitride and boride fi bres and ot her new fibres. One
chapt er is devot ed to t he gr owt h t echni ques of ultra high
st rengt h monocryst al l i ne fi bres whi ch have a great
potential in st rengt heni ng metal, cerami c and plastic
matrices. Each chapt er has a compr ehensi ve but conci se
survey of the state-of-the-art pri or to 1970 wi t h
exhausti ve ref erences to pat ent s and ot her publications.
Part t wo contai ns t hree chapters. Met al matrix
composi t es and cerami c or gl ass matrix composi t es
form t wo chapters wi t h special emphasi s on f ut ure
t rends and devel opment s. The general met hods for t he
manufacture of composi t e materi al s are di scussed in t he
third chapter. As in part one, extensi ve bibliography is
provided in each chapter.
The value of this monograph is greatl y enhanced by
a list of patent document s ci ted in t he book and a list of
patentees. A subj ect i ndex is also included. High grade
composi t e materials made enti rel y f rom inorganic
matri ces and inorganic fi bres have an undi sput ed place in
the future of composi t e t echnol ogy, and thi s book is a
must to all t hose involved in such composi t es.
De v e l o p me n t s in Hydr aul i c Ce me n t s - T e c h n o l o g y in
t h e 1990s
Published by the Royal Society, 6 Carlton Terrace,
London SW1Y 5AG, England, 1984
I SBN 0 8 5 4 0 3 2 1 5 0, Pri ce 3 1 . 8 0 ( UK} , 3 3 . 3 5 ( over -
seas) , 207 pp.
This publication represent s t he Proceedi ngs of t he Royal
Soci ety Di scussi on Meet i ng held on 16 and 17 February
1983. The t heme of the Royal Soci ety meet i ng was a
revi ew of recent advances in t he understandi ng of the
chemi st ry of cement -based materials. Special emphasi s
was given in the meet i ng to the mi crost ruct ure-engi neer-
ing properti es relationships, t he i mpr ovement s in
properti es achieved so far, and the f ut ure potential for
such materials. As a collection of papers, the proceed-
ings present a critical state-of-the-art of cement and
cement -based materials.
There are ei ghteen papers included in thi s publica-
tion. Mor e than half of t hese papers are devoted to
recent devel opment s in the mi crost ruct ure and
chemi st ry of cement hydration and t hei r significance on
the morphol ogy and submi cr oscopi c st ruct ure of the
cement paste. Five of t hese cont ri but i ons are devoted
largely to the cement itself. Somehow. t hese papers
seem to have i gnored the devel opment s i'n t he utilization
of fly ash and slag, and hardly any ment i on is made of
t hei r great potenti al not merel y as pozzolanic di l uents but
also for more effecti ve expl oi tati on of t hei r i nherent
hydraulic energy.
Eight papers di scuss cement hydration. There are
some i nteresti ng t hought s devel oped in some of the
papers - - such as the modi fi cati ons occurri ng on the
surfaces of cl i nker minerals and slag soon after they are
mixed wi t h wat er, and t he fact that pore st ruct ure is
f ormed early duri ng hydration. Only one paper appears to
di scuss fly ash.
Only five papers di scuss engi neeri ng ori ented
devel opment s - - fi bre rei nforced composi t es, MDF
cement and DSP type materials. These papers deal w; t h
strength, def ormat i on and t oughness, all of whi ch are
decisive factors in t ransf ormi ng mi crost ruct ural develop-
ment s into engi neeri ng reality.
It is wi t h some regret that one has to note several
shor t comi ngs in t he papers included in thi s proceedi ngs.
Some papers have si mpl y rei terated existin~ knowl edge
whi l st ot hers show glaring omi ssi ons of devel opment s in
the concret e worl d. There is more of sci ence and less of
engi neeri ng, and t here is a clear lack of appreciation of
t he engi neeri ng i mpl i cati ons of some of the develop-
ments, and many ot her cement / concr et e devel opment s
have been ignored. In spi te of t hese cri ti ci sms, the
papers, in an indirect way, poi nt to the future, and
hopefully, t hese wi l l sti mul ate f urt her research to exploit
in a meangi ngful way the current devel opment s to
overcome some of the over whel mi ng probl ems in the
const ruct i on industry. The papers, as a whol e, are
t hought provoking and sti mul ati ng, and deserve careful
st udy by all involved in t he cement / concr et e industry.
Conc r e t e Sl abs: Anal ysi s and Desi gn
R. J. Cope and L. A. Clark
Published by Elsevier Appl i ed Science Publishers Ltd.,
22 Rippleside Commerci al Estate, Ripple Road, Barking,
Essex IG11 0SA, England, 1984
I SBN 0 8 5 3 3 4 2 5 4 7, Pri ce 4 2 . 0 0 + 1. 75, P and P ( f or
out s i de UK) , xvi i i + 5 0 2 pp.
This book is a t i mel y and wel come addition to the
exi sti ng literature on t he analysis and desi gn of concret e
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Book reviews
slabs. The aut hors are wel l - known f or t hei r research in
thi s area, and t he book refl ects thi s knowl edge and
expert i se accumul at ed over a number of years. The book
bri ngs t oget her in one vol ume t he l atest devel opment s in
slab analysis and desi gn, and in particular, in numeri cal
sol ut i ons sui tabl e f or comput er programmi ng, in ul ti mate
load desi gns based on pl asti ci ty t heori es and in t he
current practical desi gn procedures for ul ti mate and
serviceability limit states.
The subj ect mat t er of t he book is di scussed in nine
chapters, each wi t h an ext ensi ve list of references. Af t er
an i nt roduct ory chapt er on slab behaviour, desi gn criteria
and desi gn phi l osophy, linear el asti c plate t heori es are
devel oped in t he second chapter. However, numeri cal
t echni ques are requi red t o sol ve mor e general probl ems
of al most any geomet ry, and t hese are descri bed in detail
in t he next chapter. Three met hods - - fi ni te di fferences,
fi ni te el ement s and grillage anal ogy - - are consi dered in
detail, and t he appendi x to thi s chapt er contai ns t hree
typical comput er programs to enabl e t he reader to use
t hese met hods.
Chapter f our consi ders dynami c loading and t hei r
ef f ect s on t he behavi our of slabs. Met hods based on
pl asti c t heory are di scussed in chapt er five. The rigid-
pl asti c t heor y f or predi ct i ng bounds on failure loads is
descri bed first, and both t he yield line met hod of analysis
and Hi l l erborg' s stri p met hod of desi gn are explained and
illustrated. Flexural shear and punchi ng shear are also
consi dered.
Chapters six and seven are devot ed t o serviceability
and ul t i mat e limit st at es of desi gn respectively. Cracking
and def l ect i on at wor ki ng loads and flexural and shear at
ul ti mate condi t i ons are di scussed. A special f eat ure of .
thi s chapt er is that t he desi gn criteria accordi ng to BS,
ACI and CEB codes are descri bed and compared. The BS
and ACI met hods of slab desi gn are then explained and
compared in chapt er ei ghL Chapt er nine is devot ed to
prest ressed slabs and t hei r desi gn for service and
ul ti mate load condi ti ons.
This is a compr ehensi ve and easily readable book
that provi des an up-to-date detai l ed descri pt i on of t he
current procedures for t he analysis and desi gn of reinfor-
ced concret e slabs. There are several illustrative exam-
ples, and by compari son of vari ous desi gn practi ces used
in Nort h Ameri ca, Britain and Europe, t he book at t empt s
to show t he way for a coher ent and uni fi ed approach to
concret e slab desi gn. This is an excel l ent publ i cati on
contai ni ng t he l atest procedures in slab analysis and
desi gn, and can be st rongl y r ecommended to st udent s,
researchers and desi gn engi neers alike.
Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Con-
crete (ACI 318-83); Commentary on Building Code
Requirements for Reinforced Concrete ( A C 1 3 1 ~ )
Publ i shed by t he Ameri can Concret e Insti tute, Publica-
t i ons Depart ment , P.O. Box 19150, Detroi t, Mi chi gan
48219, USA, 1983
Price, (Members) $17.00 each/S23.75 combination;
(Non-members) $27.30 each/$43.g5 combination
This is t he up-to-date revised ACl Building Code wi t h its
accompanyi ng comment ar y. There are many revisions to
thi s code si nce it was updat ed in 1977, and it covers the
enti re desi gn and const ruct i on of all rei nforced concret e
st ruct ures. Produced by ACl Commi t t ee 3t 8, this new
edi ti on represent s t he l atest thi nki ng on the desi gn and
const ruct i on of rei nforced concret e bui l di ngs and is a
must to atl t hose involved in desi gn, preparati on of
speci fi cati ons, const ruct i on and i nspecti on of all reinfor-
ced concrete.
The comment ar y is a necessary compani on of the
Building Code. It explains t he background to the develop-
ment of t he code, and cont ai ns many ref erences whi ch
provide t he basi s f or t he provi si ons in t he code: Special
sect i ons are devot ed both in t he code and t he com-
ment ary for pr est r essed concret e and sei smi c design.
No one involved in concr et e in any form can be wi t hout
t hese t wo document s, whi ch represent s t he consensus
vi ew of a wi de spect r um of educators, engi neers;
consul t ant s, materi al s suppl i ers, const ruct i on com-
panies and gover nment agenci es.
Building Code Requirements for Structural Plain
Concrete (ACi 318.1-83) and Commentary
Publ i shed by t he Ameri can Concret e Insti tute, Publica-
ti ons Depart ment , P.O. Box 19150, Detroit, Mi chi gan
48219, USA, 1983
Price $5.75 (Members), $7.25 (Non-members)
This is a compani on document to t he ACI Building Code
ACl 318- 83. whi ch is also report ed by ACI Commi t t ee
318. The code covers t he desi gn and const ruct i on of
structural member s of plain concrete, and it also includes
a comment ar y whi ch di scusses t he consi derat i ons that
led to t he devel opment of t he code requi rement s, and
also explains t he provi si ons in the code. The subj ect s
covered by t he code i ncl ude i nspecti on, materials, con-
cret e quality, f or mwor k and j oi nts, analysis and desi gn
and various plain concr et e member s such as walls,
f oot i ngs, pedest al s and precast members. This code, as
all ACt codes are, is wr i t t en in such a f orm that it can be
adopt ed by ref erence in a gener al bui l di ng code. This is
an i ndi spensi bl e document f or all involved in plain
Concrete.
Standard Practice for the Use of Shrinkage
Compensating Concrete (AC! ~3- 83)
Publ i shed by t he Ameri can Concret e Insti tute, Publica-
t i ons Depart ment , P.O. Box 19150, Detroit, Mi chi gan
48129, USA, 1983
Price $12.50 (Members), $16.00 (Non-members)
Expansive cement s are not wi del y used in t he UK but
concret e usi ng such cement s is used extensivelY in
Nort h Ameri ca and Japan in various structural member s
such as concr et e slabs, pavement s and ot her st ruct ures
to mi ni mi ze cracki ng caused by dryi ng shrinkage.
Al t hough expansi ve cement s are basically portl and
cement s wi t h additional const i t uent s, t he sel ecti on a n d
proport i oni ng of t he materials, pl acement; curing and
field appl i cati ons have t o be carefully cont rol l ed ~o
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